Population Growth in Third World Countries

Population is more of an issue than people may think. The population keeps growing but the planet is not growing with the people. The population is around 7.4 billion people; the number may vary depending on the source (worldometers, 2016).

India’s Overpopulation

One of India’s biggest problems is overpopulation; India has passed the 1-billion mark, making it the second country in the world with the highest population (Phukan, 2014). There are two main causes of overpopulation; the birth rate is surpassing the death rate and the fertility rate has been declining, however it is still higher than other countries (Phukan, 2014). In addition, there are many social issues that relate to cause of overpopulation in India, such as, early marriage, illegal migration, poverty and illiteracy, and cultural norms (Phukan, 2014). Poverty and illiteracy play a huge role in the population problem in India. India still does not have the concept of methods such as birth control and contraceptives because many citizens do not want to discuss the idea or some are not educated about the idea of contraceptives and birth control (Phukan, 2014). Moreover, there are many impacts of overpopulation such as unemployment. The number of illiterate people increase every year, thus the unemployment rate is continuously increasing (Phukan, 2014).

This image summarizes how India’s overpopulation problem started and the effects of this problem (Haq, 2011). Source: Haq’s Musings

Africa’s Population

Particularly in Kenya the population is about 44.4 million to date and Africa as a whole’s population is expected to grow to 5.7 billion by 2100 (Conniff, 2014). The population of Africa is not well known and it has been causing trouble to the wildlife that is there and is effecting the people themselves. While the population grows, the more resources that are used. However, some of the resources that are use are not sustainable, which is a problem. The wild life in Kenya has begun to disappear and will not probably not be back any time soon, or at all (Conniff, 2014).

The birth rate of Africa is about 4.7 children per women (Bish, 2016); this rate does not seem like it is going to slow down. Family planning has been a strategy that has been put forth to slow down the rate of the population. However, it does not seem to be working. The growing population will continue until people are more educated on the subject and how the supply of resources is running out.

(Cinatad, 2011)

Cuba and the Aging Population

A poverty stricken country with a population around 11.5 million people (World Population, 2016). One might believe that the elderly would be adequately cared for. Times have changed for Cuba, it was the “norm” to have your parents getting older, living with family, always having their grandchildren around to care for their needs. The customs to which people live in communities with architecturally unsafe housing and deteriorated streets. A decline in the fertility amongst the younger generation the birthrates are one of the lowest in the western hemisphere.

With a push for education after the revolution, women became empowered and were reluctant to bring children into a world that was not economically stable. Having an education is not a guarantee for a high paying career; in fact, an average weekly wage is around twenty dollars. Contraception is one of the ways women prevent unwanted pregnancy and the choice to have an abortion is easily available. Research has shown that Cuba has one of the highest abortion rates in the world and there is no stigma attached to the procedure.

Furthermore, as society has a growing number of elderly it is normal to believe that the younger generation will be there to take care of them. This is becoming a problem because educated couples want to be able to have more for themselves so repeating the past generations of having children has been put on hold or it might not happen all (Grogg, 2012). This problem of population aging and low birthrate will be the cause of a demographic collapse unless something is done.

Rapid growth of population is a very big problem in many third world countries, such as India. The National Geographic did a year -long series about global population that discusses population issues such as demographics and food (7 BILLON, n.d.). Here is a link to a YouTube video that is very eye-opening and shows some of the topics and facts to give you a visual idea of how serious this population problem is in various countries (i.e. third world) around the globe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc4HxPxNrZ0.